First homeland security secretary Tom Ridge to speak at Rice April 16

Tom Ridge

Tom Ridge, the nation’s first secretary of Homeland Security, will speak at Rice University April 16 at the inaugural Rice Veterans Leadership Series, “An Evening with Tom Ridge: A Life of Public Service and Leadership.”

The talk, which is hosted by Rice University’s Veterans in Business Association, will be at 5:45 p.m. in McNair Hall’s Shell Auditorium. A reception will take place at 5 p.m. in the Anderson Family Commons.

Ridge became the first assistant to the president for Homeland Security after 9/11; in 2003 he became the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The creation of the country’s 15th cabinet department marked the largest reorganization of government since the Truman administration and another call to service for the former soldier, congressman and governor of Pennsylvania. For more information on Ridge, visit www.ridgeglobal.com/tom-ridge.

The Rice Veterans Leadership Series will be an annual series of lectures by veterans who have excelled in business and public service.